Fewer people traveled by air last month compared with May 2008, with nearly all major and low-cost U.S. airlines reporting decreases.
Airline industry officials blamed the drop on capacity cuts caused by the economic downturn. The influenza outbreak had little effect, they said.
“Absolutely, it was capacity cuts,” United Airlines spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said of the 14.4 percent decrease in domestic revenue passenger miles year over year. United cut capacity 11.9 percent last year.
A revenue passenger mile is one paying passenger flown one mile. Capacity is defined as available seats, which can be reduced by cutting flights, using a smaller plane or removing planes from the system.
Frontier Airlines reported a 15.7 percent drop in passenger miles, also due to capacity cuts.
Spokesman Steve Snyder said the airline reduced capacity 13 percent to 15 percent in September and October 2008.
May 2008 was a month after Denver-based Frontier, which still had a bigger fleet and hadn’t cut back routes, filed for bankruptcy protection.
Lynx Aviation, a wholly owned Frontier subsidiary, stood out by its 20 percent increase in passenger miles from May 2008 to May 2009.
Snyder said seven new markets for Lynx opened in April and May 2008 and the regional jet’s capacity jumped 18.1 percent.
Denver’s No. 3 airline, Southwest, had a 3.6 percent drop in passenger miles, slightly more than its capacity cut.
Ann Schrader: 303-954-1967 or aschrader@denverpost.com
